Mashable looks at the highlights of the first 60 Facebook Apps.
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A lawsuit filed in federal court last week alleges that Microsoft knowingly configured the Windows Phone 7 operating system to track the location of users.
The lawsuit against Microsoft cites a letter the company sent to Congress, in which Microsoft said it only collects geolocation data with the express consent of the user.
“Microsoft’s representations to Congress were false,” the lawsuit says.
The litigation, brought on behalf of a Windows Phone 7 user, claims Microsoft transmits data — including approximate latitude and longitude coordinates of the user’s device — while the camera application is activated. It seeks an injunction and punitive damages, among other remedies.
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The race is on to better integrate businesses (and sales) into geolocation apps. Tonight Foursquare just tightened the race by announcing details about its version 3.0, set to update any time. The update comes just in time for SXSW, where last year geolocation rival Gowalla served as the conference’s darling app, carrying a lot of fanfare there forward (Foursqure launched at SXSW 2009).
The most notable feature in Foursquare 3.0 is Discovery, which lets you search for locations nearby:
The idea is pretty simple: tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll help you find something nearby. The suggestions are based on a little bit of everything – the places you’ve been, the places your friends have visited, your loyalty to your favorite places, the categories and types of places you gravitate towards, what’s popular with other users, the day of the week, places with great tips, the time of day, and so on. We’ll even tell you why we think you should visit a certain place (e.g. popular with friends, similar to your favorite spots). You’ll find it’s helpful for general things like “food”, “coffee”, “nightlife” (we built in quick access to these searches) and you’ll be surprised by what you get when searching for really specific things, like “80s music,” “fireplaces,” “pancakes,” “bratwurst,” and “romantic.” The more random you get, the more interesting the results get (though be patient with this first release… sometimes we can’t find everyrandom thing).
Also look for Specials, which is of interest to business owners seeking to monetize geolocation services:
Business will now be able to offer Specials to swarms, groups of friends, regulars, newbies, Mayors, or simply to everyone. And, on the Places screen in the app, you’ll now see a list of all the Specials nearby, so it’s easier to find places that reward foursquare users. With over a quarter million businesses verified on foursquare, these new tools will mean more rewards for users everywhere in the world.
Check out the full post at Foursquare. We’ll be hearing more about this in coming days as the masses start arriving at SXSW.
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